


Rainbow Café

by Mertiya



Category: Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, And Billy is an accidental hero, Fanfiction Meta, First Kiss, Graduate School, In which Teddy is an impromptu therapist, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-04 21:25:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11563629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mertiya/pseuds/Mertiya
Summary: When Billy Kaplan walks out of a bachelorette party because he's stressed, he's not expecting to meet the cutest barista in the known universe.





	1. Chapter 1

            Billy was shaking all over, hands shoved deep in his pockets, as he made his way numbly down some Chicago street. At some level, he knew this was stupid. He should just go back to Karaoke, tell Cassie he’d needed a minute of fresh air, and sit in the back of the room, maybe text Tommy. He was leaving tomorrow anyway—no, checking his phone, he saw that it was after midnight. He was leaving today. And he didn’t really want to ruin Cassie’s bachelorette party over something so stupid.

            And yet the thought of going back made bile rise in the back of his throat. He looked down at his freshly-painted nails, then balled his hands into fists and shoved them deep into his jeans pockets. _It’s fine_ , he told himself. _Yeah, it’s after midnight, but you’re in the middle of a big city in a well-lighted area. No one’s going to—_

The words of the Uber driver rose up in his head again, burning in his ears. Cassie had asked, _Do you ever have any problems with passengers?_ and seriously, why had she done that? The guy hadn’t been really talking to them or anything, and, frankly, Billy liked it that way. It was so much less anxiety-inducing to not have to carry on a conversation with a complete stranger.

            _The gays_ , the Uber driver had said, and Billy’s mouth had literally dropped open because seriously? People _said_ that? _Sometimes I have to put them in their place_. Conversation had gone dead at about that point, and Billy had just—sat back in his seat and sat on his hands, horribly conscious of his pink-and-purple shirt and gelled-up hair. No, people _shouldn’t_ assume he was Gay™ but a) he was, and b) he knew they would anyway. Especially someone who said something like _that_.

            God, what if there was someone else like that around? Why had he left the karaoke bar at all? Billy’s hands were shaking; his head was buzzing with alcohol, and he could feel the beat of his heart increasing to the point where his shallow breathing was making him dizzy. And he _still_ couldn’t face heading back to karaoke. Mindlessly, he took a right turn down a side street, glancing from side to side and then stopping, because—oh, thank god!—there was a rainbow triangle sticker in the window of the café next to him, with “safe space” printed clearly across the top. Bright lights were streaming out of the windows, and the place was nearly empty, but a quick glance at the hours of the Runaways Coffee Shop told him it was open twenty-four hours a day.

            Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Billy shoved the door open and walked in. The lone barista behind the counter looked up and gave him a surprisingly sincere-looking smile, which Billy self-consciously returned as he headed up to the counter. “Uh,” he said, looking up at the menu. “Just a hot chocolate, I don’t think my system needs any extra adrenaline tonight.”

            “Whipped cream with that?”

            “Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

            “Name?”

            Billy blinked, looking around the entirely empty coffee shop. “Billy?” he hazarded.  The barista’s ears went slightly red, and Billy noticed that he had three cartilage piercings on each one, little silver rings that wobbled slightly when he moved. “Sorry, habit,” he said. “I’m Teddy, by the way.”

            _Oh shit, he’s cute_. “Billy,” Billy said, and then immediately felt like an idiot. “Buuut you knew that, because I literally just told you that. I’m going to go sit in the shame corner now.”

            “Let’s just call it even for me asking for your name when you’re the only customer in the store,” Teddy said, with a grin. “What size hot chocolate did you want, by the way?”

            “Oh, give me a large,” groaned Billy. “I deserve it.”

            “Your night going that badly, huh? That’ll be $5.20.”

            Billy felt for his wallet, and his stomach plummeted into his shoes when his hand slapped at an empty pocket. “Shit,” he said. “It’s a worse night than I thought.” He’d been trying to make a joke of it, but his voice was rising with nerves. “ _Shit_.” The rapid heartbeat accelerated in his ears, and he had the back of his hand in his mouth before he realized it. It was so fucking hard to _breathe_ , and the room was turning dark and contracting around him.

            “Shit, man, are you okay?” someone said from very far away, and Billy wanted to say, _yes, absolutely, nothing wrong with me_ , but the words couldn’t make it through the tightness of his throat. “Billy? Can you hear me? Is it okay if I touch you?” Somewhere, very far away, Billy managed a nod, and a pair of large, warm hands were set gently-but-firmly on his shoulders, and he was being steered across the room. “There’s a chair here, why don’t you sit down, okay?” He let the hands press him into the chair, and then he folded over the little wooden table and tried to breathe. A moment later, someone set a paper cup of water down in front of him, and the hands were back, one of them rubbing tentatively at his upper shoulders. “Just focus on breathing, in and out,” said Teddy’s voice.

            Slowly, the horrible tightness in Billy’s chest started to ease up, and he managed to take a deep breath. “Christ,” he managed. “I’m sorry.”

            “Dude. You do _not_ have to be sorry for having a panic attack.”

            Billy squirmed. “I swear I’m not usually _this_ much of an idiot,” he muttered, digging his phone out of his pocket. He was going to have to text Cassie and find out if he’d left his wallet at the karaoke bar. Joy.

            “Just sit there and don’t try to do anything for a few minutes,” Teddy said. “You can deal with the wallet thing in a few minutes. Sip that water, and I’ll be right back.”

            With a sigh, Billy was forced to admit that his new friend had a point. A few minutes wouldn’t make a lot of difference in wallet-recovery, but it could make a lot of difference to his mental health. Shakily, he sipped at the water, listening to the tinny, canned coffee shop music and tried not to think too hard.

            After he’d taken three or four long, slow sips, Teddy appeared as his elbow again and pushed a hot chocolate in front of him. “I can’t—” Billy tried.

            “It’s fine, it’s just five bucks. If you really feel bad, you can pay me back sometime. Now what’s going on? And don’t tell me ‘it’s nothing.’”

            “Ugh.” Gratefully, Billy took the hot chocolate and sipped at it. The fluffy whipped cream bumped at his upper lip. “It’s dumb. It’s really dumb. It’s just a bunch of little things. Look—are you sure you can take the time to chat with me?”

            Teddy cocked an eyebrow at him. “Yeah, because it’s _so_ busy in here,” he said, with a wave of his hand. “Besides, my boss is pretty understanding. I think she kind of founded this place as a haven, you know?”

            “I—yeah, I got that. I came in because of the sticker.”

            “I thought you might have.” Teddy smiled at him. “That’s why it’s there. Now come on, tell me what’s going on.”

            Billy heaved a sigh. “I’m in Chicago for the weekend for a bachelorette party,” he said, finally. “I go to Northwestern. Anyway, Cassie and I have been friends since we were kids. We met at Band Camp,” he pulled a wry face. “Interlochen Arts Camp, actually. And she decided not to restrict her bridesmaids to women. I don’t _think_ it’s because I’m gay?” He hated how uncertain he was at this point.

            “Oof,” said Teddy.

            “Yeah. I mean—she was super chill when I came out to her. Most people in my life have been pretty chill about the being-gay thing. I grew up on the ritzy side of NYC, I got a little shit in high school, but not a lot. I was lucky, I guess. Anyways. Not the point. It’s just—this whole weekend has been an exercise in, uh. Okay, I kind of hate the term microaggressions because it sounds like I swallowed a textbook and I’m complaining about something that’s _super minor_ , but it’s probably the best way to put it?”

            “Death by a thousand cuts. I get it.” Teddy pushed his hair back from his forehead. “It just gets to you after a while.”

            “None of the bridesmaids are bad people,” Billy sighed. “They were just, uh, Trying Really Hard, I guess. You know. And honestly I don’t need _everyone_ to ask me if I have a boyfriend? Especially when I _don’t_. Then it just gets embarrassing. And like…Cassie told them all I was gay. Which—I don’t care! I’m out to my department and my family and, like, everyone?”

            Teddy chewed on his lip. “It’s still your choice to make,” he said quietly.

            “Yeah, but she didn’t really have any reason to assume I _wouldn’t_ want to tell people. I don’t even get why that _bothered_ me.” He sighed. “And it’s not like it’s Cassie’s fault that the maid of honor started hitting on me. But I just—don’t really want to talk to her right now, but my wallet is probably back at the karaoke bar, and I don’t want to ruin the weekend for her. She’s under a lot of stress with the wedding and shit—she really is usually more thoughtful than this.”

            “You know you can still be upset with her right now.” Teddy put a hand on Billy’s arm. “Listen, your friend fucked up, and it sounds like _you’ve_ been under a lot of stress, too. It’s okay for you to be mad and hurt. You guys can patch it up later.”

            “It’s her _wedding_ ,” Billy said patiently. “And it’s not her fault the Uber drive was a douchebag. Or that her bridesman is a goddamn _mess_.” He buried his face in his hands.

            “Hey. Stop beating up on Cassie’s favorite bridesman.” Teddy tentatively ruffled Billy’s hair. “Think about something else for a few minutes. Your major, maybe?”

            “Oh, I’m actually in grad school,” Billy said. “I don’t know if you call it a major anymore? Physics, though. Because I’m crazy. Um.”

            “Cool,” Teddy said. “I liked physics in high school. I might have done the engineering thing in college, but, uh, my dad died, so I never finished.”

            “Oh,” said Billy, feeling like a heel. “Shit.”

            “It’s okay, I wasn’t going for pity points.” Teddy rubbed the back of his head. “I’m not as smooth as I like to pretend I am sometimes.” But he was shifting awkwardly.

            Different topic of conversation. “Do you like the MCU?” Billy blurted, then cringed. _Real_ smooth, Kaplan. To his surprise, Teddy actually blushed slightly.

            “Yeah, actually, I like it a lot,” he said. “Iron Man’s my favorite. What about you?”

            “That is such an evil question to ask. I feel like I’m betraying whoever I don’t answer,” Billy groaned. “Tie between Captain American and Iron Man, though.” And then, because he was sleepy and probably still a little tipsy, and because the lights were very golden and almost dream-like, he added, “I ship them like burning,” as he sipped his hot chocolate. Before he could even feel like an idiot for about the fiftieth time, a surprised laugh fell out of Teddy’s mouth, and a delighted smile spread across his face.

            “Me, too,” he said quietly.

            The sudden, heady rush of _oh-wow-real-life-kindred-spirit_ was as sudden as it was silly. Thousands of people probably shipped Captain America/Iron Man. Millions, even. It was a ridiculously popular ship. If you were enough of a fanboy to ship. And yet the rush of warmth was undeniable and delightful. “Well, thank god you don’t ship Bucky/Captain America, I don’t know if we could stay friends,” fell out of Billy’s mouth, and Teddy laughed again. “Although I’ve, uh, been known to dabble in Science Husbands. Occasionally.”

            “It’s okay, I forgive you.”

            Billy’s phone vibrated in his pocket. “Shit,” he said, and looked down at it. “Oh, it’s Cassie. I guess I should see what she wants. I still need to figure out where my wallet is, and I don’t have anywhere to stay except at the Airbnb she rented.”

            Teddy nodded, suddenly serious again. “You sure?” he asked.

            Billy managed to nod. “Yeah. I—yeah. Shipping talk made me feel—a lot better, actually.” He pulled his phone out and checked the messages.

 

 **1:27 AM** **Dude where are you**

**1:29 AM Billy are you ok?**

**1:31 AM Shit I cannot believe Taylor was hitting on you I am so sorry please text me back**

**1:35 AM Billy seriously if you got mugged I will never forgive myself**

Billy winced and quickly kicked a message back.

 

_1:43 AM Yeah I’m fine_

_1:43 AM I was just kind of awkwarded out and needed a walk. Did I leave my wallet at the bar?_

**1:44 AM You scared the hell out of me. And yes you did. Idiot.**

_1:45 AM That’s me, I’ll head back now._

            The fact that Cassie had been worried soothed the nasty cold feeling in the pit of Billy’s stomach, replacing hurt with another dollop of guilt. Worrying Cassie on her bachelorette party weekend had really not been part of the plan. “Shit, I guess I should be getting back,” he said. “Um, thanks again. I really appreciate it?”

            _Ask for his number_ , urged a voice in the back of his head, but he dismissed it. It was probably creepy to hit on someone when they were still technically on the clock. And just because he shipped Iron Man/Captain America, it didn’t mean he was into guys. Necessarily.

            “Don’t forget your hot chocolate,” Teddy said, looking up from the other side of the table and pushing it across to Billy.

            “Thanks.” Billy took it automatically. “I’ll—” _see you around_ , he almost said, and closed his mouth over the absurd statement. “Uh. Thanks,” he said again, awkwardly, flushing to the roots of his hair. He wanted to say more than that, but he couldn’t find a way to begin, so he just got up, slid his phone back into his pocket and headed back out into the heart of Chicago.

            When he made it back to the karaoke bar, Cassie was almost depressingly apologetic. “It’s fine,” Billy said for the fifth time. “I just needed a breath of air. I’m really sorry I worried you.” Cardboard crumpled underneath his fingers, and he looked down in surprise to realize he still had the empty hot chocolate cup in his hand.

            “What’s written on your cup?” Cassie asked, and he held it up, frowning, and turned it around.

            _You’re cute. I hope this isn’t creepy. Call me sometime? We can talk about shipping,_ was scrawled hastily across the back, and beneath it, nine numbers in large, sloppy handwriting. Teddy must have scribbled it there at the end of their conversation, maybe when Billy was texting Cassie.

            “Holy shit,” Billy said numbly. “Cassie, thank Taylor for me.”

            “What?”

            “I think she indirectly got me the cute barista’s number.”

~

           

_2:03 AM I got my wallet back._

_2:05 AM You’re not creepy_

_2:06 AM Also thanks again_

**2:27 AM You’re welcome**


	2. Chapter 2

            Teddy yawned as he closed the front door of the Runaway Café. It had been a pretty dull shift, except for his meeting with the cute Ironman/Captain America shipper, although he admitted that pretty much made up for it. He was definitely ready for bed, though. Running a hand through his hair, he grinned as he reached down and felt the solid weight of his phone in his pocket. Billy went to Northwestern, he remembered him saying. That was less than an hour away. The thought was accompanied by a nervous skitter down the back of his neck, but he shrugged it away. It had been almost a year since the disastrous breakup with Greg, and Billy hadn’t pinged any of those red flags. Besides, beyond knowing that the guy he’d met last night was gay, Teddy didn’t really know if he was interested in going anywhere with it. He thought they had chemistry, but there were a lot of ways for chemistry to end up going.

            “Teddy, I want to talk to you.” Oh, shit. Oh, _fuck_.

            Teddy could _feel_ his heart hammering suddenly, his breath speeding up. “Uh, hey, Greg,” he said. “Now’s not a great time.”

            “Come on, Teddy.” Greg’s voice was slurred, and Teddy could smell alcohol on his breath. He hunched his shoulders, trying to make himself smaller.

            “I gotta get home and sleep, Greg.”

            “Why won’t you answer any of my texts or messages? Come on, we were the golden boys.”

            _No, we weren’t_ , Teddy wanted to tell him. _I hate you, I hate the way you used me and my looks to get you whatever the fuck you wanted. I hate myself for letting you._ He shut his eyes, trying to breathe against the sudden tidal wave of emotional slurry.

            “Look, I’ve been working all night,” he tried to say. “Can’t we do this another time?” _Like maybe never._ He hadn’t expected Greg to go to the trouble of showing up at his work, especially not this long after.

            “You’re always blowing me off,” Greg growled, and Teddy flinched slightly, but he was in no mood to deal with one of Greg’s rants right now.

            “Oh, fuck off,” he said wearily, and he began to turn to walk away.

            “Don’t you fucking turn your back on me this time!” Greg’s voice was suddenly loud, and then there was a hand on his head, and Teddy was spinning sideways. He crashed into the brick side of the building, head-first. Pain lanced through his skull, and before he could even begin to respond, Greg had grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. His back hit the wall with another bone-jarring impact, and he gasped for breath, shocked at the suddenness of the violence as much as the pain.

            “Hey, asshole! Get away from him!”

            Teddy blinked through the sudden curtain of red that had descended across his vision to see that Billy was standing just a few feet away from Greg, his hand clenched tightly around something that Teddy couldn’t quite make out. What the hell was he doing here? Or had Teddy just hit his head hard enough to hallucinate?

            “Yeah? Or you’ll do what?”

            “Or I’ll fucking tase you. Now back _off_.”

            “This is none of your business, buddy.” Greg took a threatening step in Billy’s direction, and Teddy felt his heart leap into his throat, because if Greg was willing to beat _him_ up, there was no telling what he’d do to someone he didn’t even—

            A zapping noise filled the air. Greg hit the ground hard. Billy stared down at his hand. “Oh, shit,” he said stupidly. Teddy blinked at him, then put a hand up to his head, trying to clear his vision. It came away sticky with blood.

            “Jesus,” he muttered. Maneuvering around Greg’s twitching form—he was going to be fine in a few minutes, Teddy reminded himself—he made his way over to Billy, who was staring at the taser in his hand as if it was a snake that was waiting to bite him. “Are you—okay?” he asked.

            “Shit,” Billy said, then looked up. “Oh, _shit_ , Teddy, you’re bleeding, you’re— _fuck_ —who the hell is that guy?”

            “My extremely _ex_ -boyfriend,” Teddy told him. The words seemed to be coming from somewhere far away. He knew they needed to do something, call the police, call somebody, except—

            “Oh, fuck,” Billy whimpered. “Tasers are illegal in Chicago, I looked it up, I’m gonna go to _jail_ , I’m going—” He took a sudden, deep breath. “Whatever. Doesn’t matter. We need to call a doctor for you.”

            “I’m fine,” Teddy said, although his head was throbbing painfully. “Don’t worry about me, just— _shit_ , this is a mess. I’m so sorry you got involved.”

            “You’re bleeding a _lot_.” Billy reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

            “Wait.” Teddy put out a hand. “Seriously, please. I don’t want you to get into trouble for—for—” _For defending me. Jesus Christ._

Billy managed a lopsided smile. “Self defense, right? It—it should be fine.”

            “What happened here?” Teddy didn’t know whether to groan or sigh with relief, because the next shift had just showed up. He turned to see Xavin and—shit—Jessica as well standing on the sidewalk. His brain immediately presented him with an image of what they must be seeing right now—Greg still spasming on the ground while Teddy, with a bleeding headwound, stood between him and a stranger.

            “Greg’s drunk, I think,” Teddy managed. “He, uh—he threw me against the wall, and Billy stopped him.”

            “I tased him,” Billy said again, stupidly.

            “I’m gonna t-take you to c-court, asshole!” Greg was sitting up, finally, holding his head.

            “No, you are definitely not.” Xavin. Teddy was almost surprised that they were the one who had spoken up and not Jessica, but she was standing right behind them, arms crossed, nodding. And, he supposed, it was Xavin who’d seen most of Teddy’s relationship when it was going up in flames. Greg knew Xavin, didn’t know Jessica. “If you even think of trying something like that, you will be on trial for assault before you can finish catching your breath. Is that really a trade that you want to make?” Greg gasped for air and snarled something incomprehensible. “If you leave now and do not come back, _we_ will not press charges against _you_.”

            “This isn’t over, Altman,” Greg growled, but he got to his feet and started to stagger away.

            “Let’s get you inside, Teddy,” Jessica told him, then glanced to the side. “You, too.” She indicated Billy. “Xavin, I’ll call in Nico to cover the shift with me, you make sure Teddy and Good Samaritan here are okay.”

            Xavin nodded. “Come,” they said, nodding towards the door.

            “Oh, uh,” Billy stammered. He was still holding the taser, turning it over and over in his hands. “Are you sure I should—”

            “Come on,” Teddy said. “Take it from the guy with the bleeding head, I want you there.”

            Billy gave him a wan smile and trailed after the three of them as they headed into the café. Xavin led the two of them into the back room, then frowned. “We have a first aid kit,” they said a little uncertainly. “But I have never—”

            “On it.” As Teddy sank into a chair with a grateful sigh, Billy dropped the taser, pulled out his phone, and began to type into it. “Okay,” he said, almost steadily. “Do you guys have, like, latex gloves and shit?”

            A few minutes later, Teddy was sitting forward as Billy pressed down on his head with a gauze pad that Xavin had dug out of the first aid kit. “Is your head hurting?” Billy asked, and Teddy blinked at him.

            “Um, yeah, getting slammed into the wall kind of does that?”

            Billy went bright red. “I, uh, I meant…look, it’s one of the symptoms of a potential medical emergency,” he said. “I—assume they mean, like…more than expected? Although, yeah, I don’t know what level of pain is _expected_ when you get your head slammed into the wall, okay, I’m going to shut up now.” He bent forward, squinting into Teddy’s eyes, which was maybe a little weird, but honestly Teddy wasn’t going to complain. There was warm breath on his lips, and it made him smile and close his eyes. “Uh,” said Billy. “I was, uh, trying to check that your pupils were the same size.”

            Teddy flushed and opened them again. “Oh, sorry,” he said. “I just, you know…” he bit his lip. “Well, you know I think you’re cute,” he said frankly, and Billy went red as well.

            “Um. You. Too? You are also cute.”

            “Do you two actually know each other?” Xavin enquired. They were sitting across the table, reading a magazine and keeping an eye on Teddy, while handing Billy medical supplies when required.

            “We met last night,” Billy said confusedly. “I, uh, I lost my wallet and Teddy paid for my hot chocolate, so I came back this morning to pay him back, and—”

            “And then you decided to be my knight in shining armor,” Teddy smiled. God, he was punch-drunk. “I swear I don’t usually need rescuing.”

            Billy swallowed, then swallowed again. “Well, you rescued me last night,” he said, finally. “Jesus, though. Your ex—” He shuddered. “I didn’t think I’d actually be able to tase him, but I thought he was gonna hurt you again, and I just—”

            “I was afraid he’d go after you.” Teddy hunched his shoulders forward. “I am _so_ sorry you got involved in any of this.”

            “I’m not,” Billy said, his chin firming up suddenly. “Like, I’m—weirded out that I _tased_ someone, and I’m absolutely fucking terrified that I’m gonna get arrested, but—I’m really glad I could be there when you needed someone?” He laughed a little self-deprecatingly. “I’m a physics grad student; how often do you think I get to play the hero?”

            “Well, now you’ll always be my hero.”

            Billy flushed. “Okay, um, tell me if I’m reading the situation wrong, but if this were a fic, I’m pretty sure Iron Man would be kissing Cap right about now. Maybe he’d say something witty first, but my wit is still recovering from the whole shit-I-tased-someone _thing_.”

            Teddy smiled. “I think you’re reading this exactly right.”

            “Do not stop putting pressure on his head,” Xavin warned, but they sounded amused.

            “I’m glad you agree that I am Iron Man,” Billy said, and then he leaned forward clumsily, not shifting his hands from Teddy’s head, and kissed him.

            His mouth tasted of stale alcohol and a night without sleep or brushing teeth, but Teddy didn’t care. He put both hands on Billy’s waist and kissed him back. His head twinged slightly, but the pain faded right away in favor of the feeling of Billy’s warm lips on his, Billy’s skinny back under his hands.

            “Teddy, how are you—oh, I didn’t realize you and Good Samaritan were a thing.” Jessica. Oops. So that was two of Teddy’s coworkers who were watching Billy put his tongue down Teddy’s throat.

            “It’s kind of recent,” he said, since when Billy pulled back, he only seemed to be able to make embarrassed choking noises.

            “Well, congratulations, you two.” Jessica smiled. “Teddy, you’re sure you don’t need a doctor?”

            “It has been fifteen minutes,” Xavin announced, and Billy gently lifted the gauze.

            “The bleeding’s mostly stopped, I think he’s okay,” he announced. “As long as he doesn’t—” he looked down at his phone, “—get unreasonably sleepy or have a really bad headache?”

            Teddy sighed. “You realize I just had an all-night shift, right?”

            “Um. Look, I’m a real scientist, not a movie scientist. WebMD can only do so much for me.”

            “I’m going to be fine,” Teddy declared. “Although maybe I will stay here for today. Greg shouldn’t still have a key to my apartment, but…”

            “We’ll get a restraining order,” Jessica told him.

            “Yeah,” Teddy said tiredly. “I should’ve done that ages ago.”

            “Do you want me to stick around for today?” Billy asked hesitantly. “I was going to leave today, but I can just take the bus tomorrow instead, it’s not far.”

            “Are you sure, man?” Teddy asked in surprise.

            “Very sure,” Billy smiled. “I won’t even demand payment in kisses.”

            “Can I pay you anyway?”

            God, Teddy could definitely get used to the way Billy’s face heated up when he was embarrassed. It was _adorable_. “I am definitely not going to say no, but I _am_ going to ask if someone has a toothbrush I can borrow.”

            “Today is interesting,” Xavin commented mildly. “I will find something for you.”

            As they took Billy off to clean up slightly, Teddy sighed and rested his head on his arms. On the one hand, things were complicated. On the other, maybe he should actually be thanking Greg.

            A few minutes later, when Billy came back, he sat down next to Teddy and leaned sideways against him. “Have you read the one where Tony ends up back in time and meets Steve in the 1940s?”

            Teddy stretched lazily. “Only five times or so,” he murmured quietly.

            Billy put an awkward arm around his shoulder. “I thought you might have,” he said. “I’m really glad I met you.”

            “I’m really glad I met you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Tony/Steve fic referred to is "The Twice-told Tale" by Arysteia. It's excellent and everyone should read it.


End file.
